• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

33 Years of Type 1, Tired and totally Fed Up with it...

B

Blackadder

Well-Known Member
Messages
61
Hi,

New to this forum so hello to everyone. I am quite glad I have found it because I could use some advise please.

I have been a diabetic for 33 years, monotard insulin once a day up to around 5 or 6 years ago where my doctor persuaded me to change as my HBA1C was late 7's to 8.

I am now on Humalog MIx 25 twice a day and my HBA1c varies between 6.8 - 7.2 and I am generally well controlled. I excercise regularly, play football 3 times a week and although I carry slightly more weight then perhaps I should a lot of it is muscle after a fair few years of body building and gym addiction when I was younger. I suffer from slightly higher blood pressure 134/70 ish which my doctor feels is slightly too high for a diabetic even though its in the normal range to I am on tablets to stabilise this.

I currently have no major complications and I am truly thankful for this. My main issue is that in the past few years I have become very moody, it can be like a switch and I become irritable and sometimes a **** right horrible git and I hate myself for it. I know it's happening I try to bite my lip check my blood sugars but I end up not being able to do a thing about it. My consultant suggested to me taht he had only ever heard of mood swings when blood sugars were low and not high aswell but I get it either way and he said the only thing he could do to help was give me antidepressants which I declined.

I have tried Omega 3 oils and Zinc supplements and yes they seemed to help a bit but it still happens. I also find that I have little energy, sometimes I will be full of energy and can do anything other times I am in no position to do anything. I am in my 30's, relatively fit and well I should be able to find the energy to do things. If I force myself to do stuff it makes me irritable but I can do it I just feel like I can't. I have a two year old son and another on the way, why do I find it sometimes so draining when he wants me to play with him and other times I feel great and can play for ages.

This is really killing me and I don't what to do, before my son was born I was starting to feel like giving up but he has given me renewed life. I have sought advice from my consultant and he has given me little help as I think he feels I am one of his easier patients with no real problems and decent control. He has said as such. I asked about switching Insulin and he was reluctant as he feels my control is good using my current insulin and improving but suggested Lantrus and a fast acting at food times. I havie read on here its suggested Lantrus can cause the same sort of symtoms as I am currently experiencing so this is possibly not such a good idea.

My question is how do I stop the moods, good control helps but is not the complete answer? How do I get more energy?

Sometimes when you feel great and you do a test, it shows 5.6 for e.g. I sit back and think is this how normal people feel all the time? God, if only I could too !!

Sorry for the rant, not sure where to turn now...
 
Thank you Sarah,

No blood tests for anything other than the usual HBA1c, kidney and whatever else they usually do.

I am scared of the thought of the insulin pump, can it be worn whilst playing competitive sport?

I do think it has something to do with the insulin I am taking but there seems to be little choice and as my dr thinks I am controlling well their is a reluctancy to change it but I cannot continue feeling like I do. The energy thing is annoying but not as annoying as the mood changes, thats really horrible.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.

before my son was born I was starting to feel like giving up but he has given me renewed life.
Click to expand...

I may be on the wrong track here but couldit be you have post-natal depression?It may be nothing to do with your diabetes. Post-natal depression can be pretty awful but you can get help for it, so in your shoes, I'd get an appointment with my doctor, just to get checked out.

All the best, chocoholic.
 
Chocaholic,

I have been feeling like this since I changed Insulin from Monotard to Humalog around 6 years ago, I am sure I was sometimes moody before but I don't ever remember feeling this tired and moody which I can only put down to the change.

I am sure blokes can get post natal depression but I don't think it's this, I had it a long time before my little boy was born but what I meant by that statement was there have been times when I just wanted to stop fighting and give up. Now I have a reason not to stop fighting but I just need help in how I fight cos this time I want to win. :-)

Sarah, by competitive sport I mean football. I don't play at a high level anymore as I have got a bit too old for that but I still play 5 aside for an hour and a half two or 3 times a week.

As for computers, yeah I am comptent with them as its my job to be so anything like that is ok. I just hoped there was a supplement or something easier than goung for this as the whole idea scares me.
 
Whoops, sorry, Blackadder. Sometimes it's easy to misjudge the sex of a poster. Well, I hope my mistake made you laugh........us women can be a stupid lot at times!!! I think you can rule out post-natal depression then!!! :lol:
 
Hello Blackadder,

You could try a B vitamin complex for a bit more get up and go.
A study carried out a few years back, showed that both type 1 and type 2 diabetics suffer in
particular with Vitamin B1(thiamine) deficiency. Thiamine is a very important vitamin for
maintaining a healthy libido (and all the energy and 'get up and go' that goes with it 8) )

Be very careful with daily zinc supplements, as high levels of zinc can deplete the levels of
copper in your body. (I can tell you from personal experience that a copper deficiency is not pleasant).

You may find that either a pump or basal/bolus (4+ jabs per day) will help with both your
exercise regimen and weight. Being able to more closely adjust your insulin to suit your level
of exercise, will reduce the need to 'feed the insulin' during and after exercise (a common
problem with twice daily insulin regimens).

Good luck,
timo.
 
chocoholic said:
Whoops, sorry, Blackadder. Sometimes it's easy to misjudge the sex of a poster. Well, I hope my mistake made you laugh........us women can be a stupid lot at times!!! I think you can rule out post-natal depression then!!! :lol:
Click to expand...

Yes I did laugh :D

I'll rule that one out then ... for now.
 
SarahQ said:
Blackadder said:
Chocaholic,

I]Why were you changed? Did they stop manufacturing Monotard? If you can pin point this feeling of being unwell since the change over then be quietly persistent until you are changed to something else. Again it's your body not the consultants.[/color]
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I was changed because my doctor said the insulin was old and there was better stuff around that could improve my control. I had HBA1c's of just under 8 so he felt I should be getting better control. I had been on it for best part of 33 years with a change in the middle from Animal to Human.

Maybe it's human insulin that has made me moody and tired?

I am certainly going to discuss it with him in November when I have my next appointment, Lantus doesn't sound like an opition so something else. The pump sounds great but I am very scared of it.

Thank you
 
I recently raised a similar topic about feeling tired (which makes me grumpy lol) - is there a theme here?? Is it easy to create a poll on this forum? Something along the lines of type of insulin / change etc? Would be interesting to see type 1 similarities.

TBH I was told when I was young being diabetic makes me grumpy so thats my excuse!

I even went so far recently as to ask my nurse about trying bovine insulins again - she wasnt convinced that would be good as my hypos would almost certainly become more severe again as better control has been proven with synthetic insulins..... I think a lot of the medical profession think we are just all grumpy!!!

Paul
 
Paul,

As much as my wife is understanding it kills me when my mood changes and I become someone I dislike even if it's just a for a little while. I hate it. The energy I don't have drives me to despair, I find excuses and hide behind work and feeling tired but the truth is I feel 90 sometimes not late 30's. I find it very difficult to talk to anyone about it and I tried with my diabetic consultant who was more keen to get through his list of people and I was relatively an easy patient. All he could come up with was anti-depressants which is a route I don't want to go down.

I am anxious, never been before in my life. I worry that this disease is going to get me before my little boy and I really get to know each other and I have so many plans for us to share together in the future. I am scared he will never remember me if it does. I am also petrified anything will happen to him, I am constantly scared and have never in my life been like this before. I was always so laid back but the only thing I can put this down to was the insulin change 6 years ago. I can't believe I am typing these things but I need to do something about it.

So I need to make a decision of how I am going to tackle this? Supplements Vitamin B, change of insulin etc etc etc.

Crikey, what a mess.
 
this month in mens health magazine I noticed an article on pills to keep mood spirits up. Could be worth a gander?

It mentions St Johns Wort but I believe this has to be taken with care as it can affect some meds. But there was another that slips my mind without side affects. Might be worth a pop? I'm gonna try it cos sometimes (not always) I feel lethargic and I know my moods can change and I can become somewhat aggresive about the slightest thing. feel like I'm loosing control sometimes! Not good.

I'll have a look when I get home and post the details.

Sarah,
I am going to follow animal insulin up next week during pump clinic. I already think -2hrs ahead for basal changes. I also dose about 20 mins ahead of eating when i can.
I think the thing about animal insulin was that hypos could come on more severely much quicker than synthetics. Thats what used to happen to me on animal - but then I was going through puberty etc so changes afoot at the time could have caused that! Gonna keep on this track though just to see what difference it might make. Maybe even try it for a month!
 
Sarah and everyone,

Thank you all for your kind advice I spent most of last night trawling through the internet with my wife looking at information on human insulin side effects compared to animal insulin.

I have found many possible side effects with Human yet virtually none with Animal. I would have been changed over when I was about 16-18 so years old (So around 20 years ago) and there is one thing I remember from that. The worst hypo I ever had and for me I was someone who from the age of 15 played at quite a senior level football I remember suddenly being unable to get a level of fitness I had previously and a lethargy energy loss. It's only now that I have actually thought about it and things are starting to make some sense. Many of the side effects people on human insulin seem to be experiencing are so similar to mine it's unreal. Tiredness, chronic mood swings, no get up and go, short term memory confusion I suffer from and that feeling of only occasionally ever being 100% tip top. The grumpyness part only really took effect after my more recent insulin change 7 years ago but my actual human to animal was mid-eighties.

Therefore having had a long discussion with my wife I am seriously considering going to see my GP first and ask if I can be put back onto animal insulin. I could ask my consultant but when I mentioned the mood swings, tiredness he passed it off as normal and that he could offer Anti-depressants to help, I am not depressed just down. He did then offer me an alternative of Lantus once a day and humalog before meals but thats the same stuff I am already taking really and the Lantus itself can cause the side effects.

I was also concerned that human insulin was never actually tested properly, it was desgned in 1982 and released shortly after and no long term reports have ever been done on what the long term effects are for people using it. God thats scarey.

My uncle is a diabetic, I don't see him often but he didn't get on with Human insulin but I never asked why, he changed back to animal cos of side effects. It's not really something I can ask him as we are not close and I don't see him unless by accident at the local clinic but he always seems to have bundles of energy, a carpenter/roofer/builder by trade always up to something so maybe it's also genetic and I shouldn't be on the human stuff either.

One last question, are there insulin pens now for human insulin? I remember ther old disposable needles and not keen on all that hassle again. :-)
 
I said Id come back with the name of that pick me up pill I noticed in mens health - its called 5-HTP from (wait for it....) Happy Days lol. Available from healthspan.co.uk. Costs £8.95 for 60x100mg. Says to take one a day - can go to 3 per day.

Sarah, Dont remember when I first went on a BG testing machine, but I'll ask me mum! I'm definately going to follow this bovine thing up at pump clinic next week. Thanks for your help.
Paul
 
Paul,

I tried HTP-5 some years back and St Jons Wort neither did much and when my wife found out about the side effects she wanted me to stop so I did.

Sarah, thanks for the link.

How easy is this going to be to get my consultant who my doctor will refer me too to agree to change back to animal, he has never even mentioned it to me before and I even have sneaky suspicion he said it was no longer used.

Steve
 
Blimey Sarah,

I didn't realise that they may object that much and that I would have to be that forceful. My wife is making an appointment for me for when I get back from holiday and I have to be honest I am quite scared about it. I mean how do I know more than a doctor having read a few articles? Even though the articles are clear and close to symptoms I have and many people have similar issues.

What I want to know is why everyone doesn't do it? There are many posts on here with people saying that they have similar symptoms yet their docs have said its all part of the illness. How can so many people and docs except that.

Did you find when you changed back ur control worsened or improved? I suffer from insulin taking a long time to peak at the moment, I think its some kind of immunity now but unless its a football nite the peak (Humalog Mix75/25) can take 5+ hours. So I am forever higher 2 hours after meals then I should be. I wonder if animal is better, I can't remember as it was so long ago. This probably isn't helping either but it could also be down to human insulin.

Sarah, thank you again for your time and I really appreciate it. I have felt so pants at times for so long that this feels a touch like a small light at the end of the tunnel or at least the opportunity of a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to wake up and have the get up and go and energy to play all day with my little lad and do everything he needs me to do and feel normal again. I just have to get the push now to actually confront the dr. I think my wife who read all the information yesterday and was shocked wants me to do it so she will kick me. :-)
 
Blackadder said:
I mean how do I know more than a doctor having read a few articles? Even though the articles are clear and close to symptoms I have and many people have similar issues.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve

Who has lived with it 24/7 for 33 years, you or your doctor? You've lived with it and you've clearly noticed a deterioration since you changed insulin. Quality of life is important too - true control is not just a matter of blood sugar readings but an balance of readings and sustainability. (HbA1c of 5 would be ideal in theory but not if causing crashing hypos, A&E admissions and you're unsafe to drive or care for your son.) I wonder if your situation is partly a combination of difficulties with your control, intensified by the birth of your son and concerns (which most parents must have at some time) about being there for him in future. I'm not saying your diabetes isn't a problem, just that the combination exacerbates things. Don't let them kid you that porcine insulin is no longer available - it is. You will need to be forceful.

I've had type 1 for 35 years and had symptoms similar to what you describe, with the original 'human' insulins in the 80s. I was a nightmare to live with and literally in danger of killing or being killed by my husband due to my violent tempers. Totally unlike the person I really am. Nurses dismissed my symptoms as impossible and blocked access to the consultant. In desperation hubby rang the GP while I was in a temper so she could hear me screaming. GP rang the consultant direct who said change back to pork insulin immediately. Everything settled down. HbA1c still wasn't good, but at least I didn't have the sudden hypos, violent tempers, memory problems or weight loss - a huge improvement regardless of the numbers. I've since changed to Levemir (basal, twice daily) and Humalog (bolus) with no problems (was sceptical but agreed to give them a try on condition I could switch back at the first sign of trouble). Lantus didn't give me good control, but without bad side-effects, Levemir suits me better.

We're all different. Type 1 is not a self-inflicted condition, they have no right to judge what quality of life is 'good enough' for you. Thyroid problems and coeliac disease are auto-immune problems like type 1 so you are at increased risk. Thyroid function is usually part of routine bloods done with your HbA1c etc but coeliac screening isn't. Coeliac disease can interfere with food absorption/insulin metabolism.

If you don't want a pump, something like DAFNE might help once you're on insulin that doesn't have you climbing the walls. Even if it doesn't improve the numbers, the flexibility and feeling of really being in control (instead of diabetes controlling you), is priceless. IMHO!
 
Thank you LittleSue for that.

What made you change to human insulin? Better control? This is my concern I don't want my control to worsen but I don't mind working at it if the animal insulin can achieve good HBA1c and control.

As for the baby thing yes I am more scared of my future now I have a son and another baby due in a few months but the symtoms, tempers, tiredness and feeling down have been there at least at it's worst when I changed from Monotard 7 years ago and after much thought probably since I changed from animal in the 80's but at a lesser scale.

Reaching out to this forum has helped and I am now desperate to change my insulin, I'd like to try going back to animal but another type pf human could also work perhaps. Although my consultant suggested the only option other than what I was on is Lantus and humalog which I am not keen on.

Thanks
 
Blackadder
Dont forget, after all thats been written on here about how bad human insulin might be....and remember the factor here is to SOME people, is that it might be perfect for you, as could Lantus!

I was on Lantus and found it to be the best basal insulin I'd ever been on. My control has never been good but it certainly improved when I changed to lantus.

I'm not sure whether my physical state - tiredness, moodyness can be attributed to human insulin or not....yet.

I'm going to try animal insulin in my pump if I can find one that works in it and see how if feel once i have gained control. If its too inflexible I will have to change back to the human stuff.

The key is to ask to try different types. Give yourself some time on each, say 6 weeks to ensure you achieve control. If you are high, you will be moody and tired, or swinging up and down will cause untoward feelings.

Animal seems to work much more slowly than human. This probably means on passing McDonalds you cant dive in for a quick burger! You'll need to plan for it.

I'll let you know how things go with me over the coming weeks if I get to change. I might even try another human insulin called apidra first though. We'll see. I'll work with my specialist nurse for best advice.
Paul
 
Sarahq,
I've been having a quick look this morning on what type of insulins I'd be interested in speaking to my specialist nurse about - came up with these:
Animal
Hypurin Bovine Neutral
Hypurin Porcine Neutral
Pork Actrapid (which looks like its been discontinued)
Human
Apidra

Whats the difference between bovine and porcine in terms of functionality (if thats the right phrase!)? Im also trying to find profiles on these - anyone know where I can find these?
Secondly, I know you mentioned to me a few weeks ago which one you use - can you remind me? Thanks again
Paul
 
Jenny Hurst - thats a blast from the past!!! I used to play with her daughter as we were both diagnosed about the same age 7 ish!! LOL.

Thanks for your help.
P
 
Back
Top